While formal dialogue about the theological and historical causes of the splits in Christianity are essential, so, too, is a recognition that “sinful actions and attitudes” have contributed and continue to contribute to divisions in the body of Christ, Pope Francis said.
“We are called, then, to work toward the restoration of unity between Christians, not merely through signed agreements but through fidelity to the Father’s will and discernment of the promptings of the Spirit,” Pope Francis wrote in a letter to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople Nov. 30, the feast of St. Andrew. … Read more »… lire la suite »
“For the first time in a long while, this 11th assembly provided safe spaces for serious engagement, reflections, prayer, challenging one another, [and] encounters.” said Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee. She spoke of her take-aways from the WCC assembly, including the “commitment to the search for unity – common vision and understanding,” which she referred to as the cornerstone of the WCC. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The WCC 11th Assembly has recommended increasing youth participation in the global ecumenical fellowship.
The assembly received, affirmed, and endorsed a Youth Statement signed by 38 youth members of the assembly, including 12 delegates and nine advisers. The assembly is referring to the WCC central committee for action, noting “the need for full youth involvement in all commissions, committees, advisory groups, and reference groups of the WCC, but also the apparent reluctance of some member churches to nominate young people to the central committee and other committees.” … Read more »… lire la suite »
At times of world crisis, the “habits of division” between Christians must end, the Archbishop of Canterbury said on Wednesday. He was addressing the 11th World Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly, meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany (Comment, 2 September).
Archbishop Welby spoke of the Lambeth Conference meeting in Canterbury over the summer (News, 19 August), at which participants had expressed “huge differences” over matters such as human sexuality. “We found our way forward through, not by solving the issues but by living in the light of Christ, by saying we do not agree, by being honest without excluding one another.” … Read more »… lire la suite »
Speakers during a World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly plenary under the theme “Christian unity and the churches’ common witness” on 7 September reflected on unity, mission, and reconciliation in the fellowship and ecumenical movement. The plenary theme included conversation on accomplishments and challenges to Christian unity and mission since the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, and mutual accountability and witness to the love of Christ in a changing landscape and looking forward. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Archbishop Justin today addressed the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches. The WCC Assembly is the highest governing body of the World Council of Churches, and normally meets every eight years. This year’s conference took place between 31st August – 8th September 2022. It is the only time when the entire fellowship of member churches come together in one place for prayer and celebration. The theme of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches is “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity”. … Read more »… lire la suite »
In a process described as, “a journey of walking together, praying together, and working together,” Dr Agnes Abuom, WCC moderator, began the second business plenary with a review of the assembly decision-making process. “The decisions of the assembly are expressed through the final reports of the assembly committees,” she said, noting the distinction between earlier messages and final messages, which are expected to come to assembly next week.
During the plenary, the assembly received the second report of the nominations committee. At the time of the report, over 163 nominations had been submitted for 150 seats on the WCC central committee, with more nominations still expected. Part of the work of the nominations committee will be to ensure a balance of representation with respect to youth, gender, lay, as well as Indigenous persons and persons with disabilities. … Read more »… lire la suite »
How do we – as Christian world communions – define the goal of visible unity for our churches? Can we find a way forward, walking together towards a shared vision? Or do we “simply fall back and expect the other to look like us?”
Those were key questions posed by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary Rev. Anne Burghardt to Anglican bishops and representatives of other Christian world communions gathered at the 15th Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England.
Under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, over 650 Anglican leaders, as well as bishops in full communion from across the globe, are meeting from 26 July to 8 August. Reflecting on the theme ‘God’s Church for God’s World: walking, listening and witnessing together’, they are discussing the mission and the priorities of the worldwide communion for the next decade. … Read more »… lire la suite »
As Christians come together to mark the annual ecumenical Week of Prayer, the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), Bishop Brian Farrell, says Pope Francis’ synodal process could make a “hugely important” contribution to improving relationships between the different churches. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The Department for Unity, Faith and Order in the Anglican Communion has at its core the search for deeper unity between Christians, be that within and between the churches of the Anglican Communion or between the Anglican Communion and other Christian churches and bodies.
Much of the work of Unity, Faith and Order (which goes by the extra-terrestrial acronym UFO) is taken up with encouraging Christians to talk together. Over the course of the last century much work has been done to break down mutual suspicion and division between churches by patient dialogue and the building up of relationships. This happens at the local level, where Christians find that when they come together to pray or get involved with mission and ministry that they have more in common than they first thought. It also happens at national and international level, when theologians from different churches and traditions talk together to come to agreement on issues that have previously divided them. … Read more »… lire la suite »
After five years of meetings by an international commission of Mennonites, Lutherans and Roman Catholics on the topic of baptism, John Rempel, the commission’s Mennonite representative, presented a trilateral report from that dialogue at an event called “One Baptism? A Symposium on Baptism and the Christian Life,” at Waterloo North Mennonite Church on Nov. 8.
Pastors, denominational leaders, professors and some students from Conrad Grebel University College attended the Anabaptist Learning Workshop event, sponsored by Grebel and Mennonite Church Eastern Canada.
Framed around scriptures emphasizing the image of the church as one body with one baptism, the symposium began and ended with times of worship. In between, Rempel summarized the report and then invited three people, one from each tradition, to respond. They formed a panel that fielded further comments and questions.
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) engaged in the trilateral dialogue because “Jesus Christ calls us to be one.” Participation was seen as a way to build on previous reconciliation efforts between the denominations, nurturing mutual understanding and cooperation. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Dipping his bicycle tires into the Pacific Ocean on the morning of Saturday, May 19, Bishop Rob Hardwick of the Diocese of Qu’Appelle officially began a cross-country pilgrimage to the Atlantic coast to promote unity, healing, and reconciliation within the Anglican Church of Canada.
Over the course of a planned 62 days, the 7,877-kilometre cycling journey will take Bishop Hardwick from Victoria, B.C. to St. John’s, Newfoundland, during which he will meet and pray with thousands of people in hundreds of congregations.
“I’m hoping to gather people’s comments, what they understand those three words [unity, healing, and reconciliation] to mean in their own lives,” the bishop said.
“Obviously in our church, we are fairly conflicted in some issues. So what does it mean to be a church of unity? What does it mean to be a church of healing and reconciliation as well?” … Read more »… lire la suite »
In 2017, we mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. This Festschrift in honour of Monsignor John Radano, who served as head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity’s Western section for nearly 25 years, offers a window on what has been achieved through ecumenical dialogue over the past 50 years. It also reminds us of the importance of ecumenical friendship in advancing the cause of Christian unity.
Since the Reformation, Christian unity has suffered many failures. Yet, especially in more recent times, it has also celebrated encouraging successes. Disparate Christian traditions are beginning to trust each other. Will Christians eventually find one shared identity? What are the theological and ecclesial challenges ahead? This timely collection of essays by prominent Catholic and Protestant ecumenists witnesses a hope for a future Christian unity born out of 50 years of honest and genuine dialogue.
Towards Unity – a collection of papers by major ecumenical contributors – reflects with passion and hope on bilateral dialogues, the ecumenical movement, and organizations that promote multilateral relationships. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, the scandal of division is giving birth to renewed relationships, dialogue, and awareness. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Those who work in the field of Christian unity for any length of time are quick to point out that ecumenism is the work of the Holy Spirit. We say that not to sound pious but because we know firsthand two things: from our failed efforts, that we cannot bring about unity by ourselves no matter how hard we try; and from our successes, that something else is operative in this work of dialogue and reconciliation. God’s grace shapes our efforts in countless ways, experienced in a deep yearning for unity, in the insights which come forth from dialogue, in the moments of breakthrough when new understandings are reached, in the relationships and bonds of communion that are formed when we work with other Christians at the service of unity.
Ecumenism is a work of the Holy Spirit in the churches as they put themselves at the service of Jesus’ desire that his disciples be reconciled, and it is a work of the Spirit in people’s lives. This volume, which reflects on ecumenical achievements and hopes as we mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, is a celebration of the work of the Holy Spirit in the churches and ecclesial communities of the West as they have sought to address conflicts and heal divisions. It is also a celebration of the work of the Holy Spirit in the ecumenical ministry of Monsignor John Radano, and in a secondary but very real way, of each of the contributors to this volume. John Radano, generally known by his dialogue partners and colleagues as Jack, served as head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity’s (PCPCU) Western section for nearly a quarter century, from 1984 to 2008. In this capacity, he participated in dialogues with Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Mennonite, Classical Pentecostal, and Evangelical traditions, and served as liaison with the World Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order. Jack was also involved in relations with the Anglican Communion, the World Methodist Council, and the Global Christian Forum, so had a truly comprehensive involvement in relations with the Catholic Church’s dialogue and consultation partners in the West. … Read more »… lire la suite »
“This year, churches around the world will be marking the great significance of the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation in Europe, dated from Martin Luther’s 95 Theses protesting against the practice of indulgences, on 31 October 1517 at Wittenberg. The Church of England will be participating in various ways, including sharing in events with Protestant church partners from Continental Europe.
The Reformation was a process of both renewal and division amongst Christians in Europe. In this Reformation Anniversary year, many Christians will want to give thanks for the great blessings they have received to which the Reformation directly contributed. Amongst much else these would include clear proclamation of the gospel of grace, the availability of the Bible to all in their own language and the recognition of the calling of lay people to serve God in the world and in the church.
Many will also remember the lasting damage done five centuries ago to the unity of the Church, in defiance of the clear command of Jesus Christ to unity in love. Those turbulent years saw Christian people pitted against each other, such that many suffered persecution and even death at the hands of others claiming to know the same Lord. A legacy of mistrust and competition would then accompany the astonishing global spread of Christianity in the centuries that followed. All this leaves us much to ponder. … Read more »… lire la suite »
While attending an ecumenical service at a Lutheran church in Rome a year ago, Pope Francis encountered a Lutheran woman who was married to a Roman Catholic. She asked the Pope why she could not receive the Eucharist while attending Catholic services with her husband.
Caught unawares by this spur-of-the-moment question, Pope Francis’ immediate reply was to suggest that the woman should follow her conscience. It was the type of pastoral response that has become a trademark of Pope Francis, but it would be a mistake to believe his intention was to introduce a new Church teaching. His pastoral response does, however, signal that ancient barriers may well be in the process of reform.
Most Roman Catholics are probably aware that Protestants should not receive communion at a Catholic celebration of the Eucharist. But few probably know the reason why. Likewise, it is also fair to suggest that Catholics attending a Protestant service are often uncertain whether it is proper to receive Eucharist in a Protestant church.
Amid this uncertainty, I suspect a common response today from both Catholics and Protestants is to feel less conscience-bound to refrain from eucharistic sharing at each other’s gatherings. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Commemorations of next year’s 500th anniversary of the Reformation – which led to the separation of protestant churches from the Catholic Church – have begun with a combined prayer service in Lund Cathedral, Sweden, attended by Pope Francis and the Revd Dr Martin Junge, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation. The participation of Pope Francis at the start of the year of commemorations is hugely significant and symbolises the growing ecumenical thaw which has been taking place over the past 50 years.
The prayer service is taking place in Lund Cathedral, which began life in 1080 as the seat of the Catholic archiepiscopal diocese of Lund; but since Danish Reformation in the 1520s and 1530s, has been a Lutheran cathedral. It became part of the Church of Sweden when the Province of Skåne (Scania) was ceded from Denmark to Sweden in 1658.
Through the Porvoo Communion, the Church of Sweden is in full communion with several Anglican churches, including the Church of England, the Church of Ireland, the Lusitanian Church of Portugal, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Reformed Episcopal Church of Spain, and the Church in Wales. Elsewhere across the globe, other Anglican churches are in varying degrees of unity and communion with other Lutheran churches.
“We are on our way from conflict to communion,” Archbishop Antje Jackelén, leader of the Church of Sweden, said at a press conference, referencing the ground-breaking 2013 joint report between the two churches. “We are going to express our joy and gratitude for what we have in common: namely, the Gospel of Jesus Christ which unites us – that can be celebrated never enough.
“But there are also things that we definitely do not want to celebrate; but to repent and express our lament and sorrow; and that is, of course, the pain that division has caused throughout so many centuries.” … Read more »… lire la suite »
The reconciliation process between the Lutheran World Federation and Mennonite World Conference has created fertile ground for collaboration. A report summarizing the LWF–MWC action of reconciling with Mennonites over the condemnations in the Augsburg Confession aims to help LWF churches, pastors, seminaries and congregations to “implement the LWF commitment to teach differently about Anabaptists, especially to how they are described in the Augsburg Confession.”
“The seeds of reconciliation sown more than 30 years ago, which flowered at the service of reconciliation in Stuttgart in 2010, are now truly bearing fruit,” says John D. Roth, MWC representative on the LWF Task Force and contributor to the document. “Mennonite and Lutheran pastors and church leaders will find lots of ideas for how they might engage each other at the local level.”
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor 13:13).
1. By God the Father’s will, from which all gifts come, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit Consolator, we, Pope Francis and Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, have met today in Havana. We give thanks to God, glorified in the Trinity, for this meeting, the first in history.
It is with joy that we have met like brothers in the Christian faith who encounter one another “to speak face to face” (2 Jn 12), from heart to heart, to discuss the mutual relations between the Churches, the crucial problems of our faithful, and the outlook for the progress of human civilization.
2. Our fraternal meeting has taken place in Cuba, at the crossroads of North and South, East and West. It is from this island, the symbol of the hopes of the “New World” and the dramatic events of the history of the twentieth century, that we address our words to all the peoples of Latin America and of the other continents.
It is a source of joy that the Christian faith is growing here in a dynamic way. The powerful religious potential of Latin America, its centuries–old Christian tradition, grounded in the personal experience of millions of people, are the pledge of a great future for this region.
3. By meeting far from the longstanding disputes of the “Old World”, we experience with a particular sense of urgency the need for the shared labour of Catholics and Orthodox, who are called, with gentleness and respect, to give an explanation to the world of the hope in us (cf. 1 Pet 3:15). … Read more »… lire la suite »
In 1975, five major Christian churches in Canada reached an agreement recognizing the validity of each other’s baptisms. Forty years later, the mutual recognition of baptism by the Presbyterian, Lutheran, United, Roman Catholic and Anglican (PLURA) churches stands as a historic milestone in the ongoing ecumenical movement.
A news release from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) on September 11, 1975 noted that the agreement followed an ecumenical study of baptism by the Joint Working Group of the Canadian Council of Churches and the CCCB. Responding to the report, each church agreed that “baptism would be recognized when conferred according to the norms of the churches, with flowing water, by pouring, sprinkling or immersion, accompanied by the Trinitarian formula [i.e. in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit].”
Archdeacon Bruce Myers, ecumenical and interfaith coordinator for the Anglican Church of Canada, underscored the role of mutual recognition of baptism in bringing members of different churches closer together.
“When each of us is baptized, it’s always into a particular church, a local community of faith that exists within a denomination,” Myers said. “But also you’re being baptized into the one holy catholic and apostolic church that is universal.” … Read more »… lire la suite »